Apparatus for still and moving image recording and control thereof

ABSTRACT

An image pickup apparatus capable of performing shooting action control appositely to each of different modes of shooting such as moving image shooting and still image shooting includes an instructing part for selectively instructing the apparatus to perform moving image shooting or still image shooting, and a control part for variably setting control characteristics for various control actions such as backlight correction control, white balance control, automatic focusing control, shutter speed control, etc., according to the instruction of the instructing part.

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 08/351,740, filedDec. 8, 1994, U.S. Pat. No. 5,703,638, which is a continuation of Ser.No. 07/948,001, filed Sep. 21, 1992, abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to an image pickup apparatus, such as a videocamera, arranged to be capable of operating in completely differentimage shooting modes such as moving image shooting and still imageshooting.

2. Description of the Related Art

A demand for high-density recording has recently increased in the fieldof magnetic recording. To meet this demand, video tape recorders(hereinafter referred to as VTRs) have come to be arranged to performrecording at a higher density by lowering the traveling speed of thetape. The lower traveling speed of the tape, however, brings about aproblem which is as follows: In a case where an audio signal is recordedwith a fixed head, for example, the quality of reproduced soundsdegrades as it is impossible to make the relative speed of the tape andthe fixed head sufficiently high. In one of methods for solving thisproblem, the length of recording tracks to be scanned by a rotary headon the tape is extended to be longer than the conventional length and anaudio signal which has been time-base compressed is recorded within theextension area of the tracks. More specifically, this method is carriedout in the following manner: While it has been practiced to wrap themagnetic tape at least 180 degrees around a rotary cylinder in the caseof a rotary 2-head helical scanning type VTR, the tape is wrapped,according to this method, at least (180+θ) degrees around the rotarycylinder; and an audio signal which has been pulse-code modulated (PCM)and time-base compressed is recorded within the extra wrapped partcorresponding to the additional degree θ.

FIG. 1 shows the tape transport system of the VTR of the above-statedkind. FIG. 2 shows recording tracks formed on a magnetic tape by the VTRof FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, a reference numeral 1 denotes a magnetic tape. Anumeral 2 denotes a rotary cylinder. Numerals 3 and 4 denote headsmounted on the rotary cylinder 2. In FIG. 2, A numeral 5 denotes a videosignal recording area of the recording track formed on the magnetic tape1. A numeral 6 denotes a PCM audio signal recording area of therecording track. The video signal recording area 5 is arranged to betraced by the heads 3 and 4 within the angle range of 180 degrees aroundthe rotary cylinder 2, and the PCM audio signal recording area 6 isarranged to be traced within the additional angle range of θ around therotary cylinder 2.

As one application example of the method of recording a digital signalin another area while a video signal is recorded within one area asmentioned above, a method of recording a still image within the digitalsignal recording area 6 in the form of a digital signal has beenproposed. Information on one still image can be completely recorded onthe magnetic tape 1 by scanning a plurality of the PCM signal recordingareas 6. This method not only enables one and the same image pickupapparatus to use one and the same recording medium for still imageshooting as well as for moving image shooting but also makes it possibleto obtain a still image of a higher picture quality than a still imageobtainable by the conventional VTR by reproducing a video signal fromone and the same track by stopping the tape travel.

It has been also proposed to combine a recording apparatus of theabove-stated kind with a camera into a camera-integrated type VTR(hereinafter referred to as a video camera) which permits still imageshooting as well as moving image shooting.

The video camera of the above-stated kind is provided with variousautomatic control functions such as an automatic white balance controlfunction and an automatic focus control function for optimum imagepickup. To carry out these functions, the video camera is provided alsowith various moving parts such as an actuator for an optical system,etc.

However, the characteristics of these functions are arranged to beoptimum only for moving image shooting in general. It has been,therefore, a shortcoming of the conventional video camera of theabove-stated kind that the still image shooting cannot be accomplishedin an optimum manner because of such characteristics.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention is directed to the solution of the problem of the priorart. It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide an imagepickup apparatus which is capable of recording still images in anoptimum state as well as moving images by itself.

It is another object of the invention to provide an image pickupapparatus which is arranged to permit smooth switching from moving imageshooting over to still image shooting.

To attain these objects, an image pickup apparatus which is arranged asan embodiment of this invention comprises: image pickup means arrangedto convert image pickup light obtained from an object into an electricalsignal; instructing means arranged to give an instruction for movingimage shooting or for still image shooting; driving-control means fordriving-control over moving image shooting and still image shooting withpredetermined different control characteristics; and setting means forsetting the different control characteristics according to theinstruction of the instructing means.

The embodiment is capable of performing under apposite controlconditions not only the moving image shooting but also the still imageshooting.

With the control characteristics appropriately set, switch-over from themoving image shooting to the still image shooting can be smoothlyaccomplished.

Further, this invention is not limited to the moving image shooting andthe still image shooting but is also applied to any cases where theimage pickup is to be performed in any of different modes by a singleapparatus.

These and other objects and features of this invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description of embodiments thereoftaken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing in outline a tape transport systememployed in the conventional magnetic recording apparatus.

FIG. 2 conceptually shows recording tracks formed on a magnetic tape bythe magnetic recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the circuit arrangement of a videocamera which is arranged according to this invention as a firstembodiment thereof.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the procedures for actions to be takenwithin a shutter control device included in the video camera shown inFIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the internal flow of shutter control ofFIG. 4 for still image shooting.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the internal flow of shutter controlperformed for still image shooting in a manner as a modification exampleof the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the circuit arrangement of a videocamera which is arranged according to this invention as a secondembodiment thereof.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing procedures for shutter control to betaken at the time of still image shooting by a shutter control deviceshown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the internal flow of shutter controlperformed for still image shooting in a manner as a modification exampleof the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing the internal flow of shutter controlperformed for still image shooting by another modification example ofthe second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the whole arrangement of a thirdembodiment of this invention.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing the procedures of control to be taken inthe still image recording (SV) mode of the third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing the procedures of control to be taken inthe moving image recording (MV) mode of the third embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart showing procedures for detecting a half-pushedstate of a 2-step trigger switch.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing the operation of a fourth embodiment ofthis invention.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart showing the operation of a fifth embodiment ofthis invention.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of a seventhembodiment of this invention.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of an eighthembodiment of this invention.

FIG. 19 is a flow chart showing the operation of the circuit arrangementshown in FIG. 18.

FIG. 20 shows the image-plane dividing arrangement of color detectingmeans shown in FIG. 17.

FIG. 21 is a vector diagram showing the operation of the arrangementshown in FIG. 17.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing the circuit arrangement of a magneticrecording/image pickup apparatus arranged as a ninth embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram showing the circuit arrangement of a magneticrecording/image pickup apparatus arranged as a tenth embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 24 is a flow chart showing the control procedures of the tenthembodiment of this invention.

FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing an eleventh embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 26 is a flow chart showing the operation procedures of a controlcircuit shown in FIG. 25.

FIGS. 27(A) and 27(B) show shutter speeds as in relation to aperturevalues.

FIG. 28 shows the arrangement of a twelfth embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 29 is a flow chart showing the control procedures of the twelfthembodiment of this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following describes embodiments of this invention with the featuresof them first described in outline as follows:

A magnetic recording apparatus arranged as an embodiment of thisinvention to be capable of recording a still image along with a movingimage is characterized in that the embodiment is provided with detectingmeans for detecting a release signal for recording a still image, andcontrol means arranged to inhibit any driving-control over a drivingpart included in a photo-taking optical system when the release signalis detected by the detecting means while the apparatus is in the mode ofstill image recording.

A magnetic recording apparatus arranged as another embodiment of thisinvention to be capable of recording a still image along with a movingimage is characterized in that the embodiment is provided with detectingmeans for detecting the state of a camera control action when theapparatus is in the mode of still image recording, and control meansarranged to inhibit a release for still image recording when the cameracontrol action is determined to be in a transition period on the basisof a detection signal provided by the detecting means.

In one mode of the above-stated embodiment, the camera control action isconsidered to be at least one of control actions including white balancecontrol, aperture control and automatic gain control.

In the magnetic recording apparatus which is arranged as theabove-stated embodiment and is capable of both moving image recordingand still image recording, an actuator provided for driving the opticalsystem is forcibly inhibited from driving when a release is made forstill image recording, so that an image shake can be prevented to ensuresharp still image shooting.

Further, in recording a still image with the magnetic recordingapparatus which is capable of recording both a moving image and a stillimage, the operating state of camera control is monitored and a releaseaction is inhibited if the camera control is found to be in a transitionperiod. Therefore, the still image recording action can be preventedfrom being performed under any condition inapposite to shooting.

The details of the embodiments are as described below with reference tothe accompanying drawings:

Embodiment I

FIG. 3 shows the circuit arrangement of a magnetic recording apparatusaccording to this invention as a first embodiment thereof. FIG. 4 showsthe flow of operation procedures to be taken within a shutter controldevice 320 shown in FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 3, a reference numeral 300 denotes a focusing lensgroup which is provided for forming an object image on an image sensor.A numeral 302 denotes a zooming lens group. The focusing and zoominglens groups 300 and 302 are arranged to be driven respectively by afocusing motor 336 and a zooming motor 332 through a focus drivingcircuit 334 and a zoom driving circuit 330 in accordance with theinstructions of an optical system control device 322. A numeral 304denotes a compensating lens group. A numeral 306 denotes a shutter whichis arranged to be driven by a shutter driving circuit 324 according toan instruction from a shutter control device 320. A numeral 308 denotesan iris which is arranged to be operated by an aperture control circuit326 and an IG meter 328.

An object image is formed, through the optical system 300, 302 and 304,the shutter 306 and the iris 308, on an image sensor 310. The imagesensor 310 converts the object image into an electrical signal. Theelectrical signal passes a preamplifier 312 and a camera signalprocessing circuit 314 to be sent as a video signal to a moving-imagerecording/still-image recording change-over control circuit 315.

In the case of moving image recording, the video signal is supplied to avideo signal processing circuit 3151 to be converted into a desired formof video signal before it is supplied to a recording device 3155. In thecase of still image recording, the video signal is supplied from thechange-over control circuit 315 to an A/D (analog-to-digital) conversioncircuit 3152 to be converted into a digital signal. The digital signalthus obtained is converted into a desired form of digital signal througha rate conversion circuit 3153 and a PCM conversion circuit 3154 and isthen supplied as a still image recording signal to the recording device3155.

A moving-image shooting/still-image shooting mode selection (hereinafterreferred to as M/S selection) input part 316 is arranged to supplyeither a moving image shooting mode selection signal or a still. imageshooting mode selection signal, according to a selection made by thephotographer, to both the shutter control device 320 and themoving-image recording/still-image recording change-over control circuit315. A release device 318 is arranged to supply a release switch on/offsignal (hereinafter referred to as a release signal) to the shuttercontrol device 320 when a release button is pushed by the photographer.

The shutter control device 320 which uses a microcomputer is arranged tocontrol the shutter speed to make it most apposite to the still imageshooting or to the moving image shooting and also to control the opticalsystem, the signal processing system and the recording device inaccordance with input signals which include the above-stated M/Sselection signal and the release signal. Further, the characteristics ofthese control actions are stored as programs in a memory within theshutter control device 320. In accordance with the selection signal fromthe above-stated M/S selection input part 316, the control is carriedout by calling an applicable program stored.

Next, referring to FIG. 4, the flow of operation which is to beperformed within the shutter control device 320 of FIG. 3 on the basisof the programs stored in the memory is described as follows:

At a step 400: A check is made for detection of the M/S selection signalof the M/S selection input part (moving-image shooting/still-imageshooting mode selection input part) 316. In other words, in a case wherea mode selecting operation is performed by the photographer to selectthe moving image shooting mode or the still image shooting mode, themode as selected is detected from the M/S selection signal and the flowof control shifts to an applicable process.

If the moving image shooting mode is found to have been selected at thestep 400, the flow comes to a step 402. At the step 402: The releasesignal of the release device 318 is checked for its on/off state. If therelease signal is found to be on, the process of the moving imageshooting is judged to have begun and the flow comes to a next step 404.At the step 404: Shutter control is actually performed in a mannersuited for the moving image shooting. In a case where the still imageshooting mode is found to have been selected at the step 400, the flowcomes to a step 406. At the step 406: The release signal of the releasedevice 318 is checked for its on/off state. If the release signal isfound to be on, the shutter action is judged to have begun and the flowcomes to a step 408. At the step 408: Shutter speed is controlled forthe still image shooting, and other related control actions are alsoperformed. Since the process of the step 408 constitutes an essentialpart of this invention, its details will be described later.

Upon completion of the shutter control for the moving image shootingor-the still image shooting, the flow comes back to the step 400 fordetection of the moving-image/still-image shooting mode selectionsignal.

Referring to the flow chart of FIG. 5, the details of a shutter controlroutine of the step 408 of FIG. 4 for the still image shooting are asfollows: At a step 500: With the shutter judged to be on, a check ismade to find if each of the optical system actuators is in action. Ifnot, the flow comes to a shutter control step 506. If the actuator isjudged to be in action, the flow comes to a step 502 for an actuatorstopping routine, which is executed as described below:

At the step 502: If the focusing lens group 300 is moving, the lensgroup 300 is forcibly brought to a stop. At a next step 504: If thezooming lens group 302 is in action while the shutter is on, the zoominglens group 302 is brought to a stop. The flow then shifts from the step504 to the shutter control step 506. At the step 506: The still imageshooting is carried out by driving the shutter 306 at a predeterminedshutter speed.

At a step 508: A check is made to find if the actuator was judged to bein action and forcibly brought to a stop at the step 500. If not, theflow comes out of this routine. If so, the flow comes to an opticalsystem restarting step 510. At the step 510: After the end of the stillimage shooting, if the actuator is found to have been moving before itis brought to a stop, the actuator is again caused to drive theapplicable lens group on the same condition as the condition under whichthe control over the focusing lens group 300 or the zooming lens group302 is brought to a stop.

As described above, with the release button turned on by thephotographer in the still image shooting mode, the control operation isperformed to forcibly bring the focusing lens group and the zooming lensgroup to a stop. Therefore, conditions inapposite to shooting such aschanges in the angle of view and in the extent of blur of the imagepicked up due to the movement of the optical system resulting from therelease operation can be prevented. Further, since the optical system ismovable again, after the still image shooting, under the same conditionas before. Therefore, any unnatural shot that results from the forcedstoppage mentioned above can be minimized. In other words, thearrangement of this embodiment prevents an image shake and enables thevideo camera of the kind capable of recording both a moving image and astill image to give a sharp still image shot because the optical systemactuators for the focusing and zooming lens groups are forcibly broughtto a stop for still image shooting.

Modification Example of Embodiment I

In the case of the first embodiment of this invention described above,the actuators of the optical system are arranged to be brought to a stopwhen the release device is turned on. However, the invention is notlimited to this arrangement. This arrangement may be changed, asindicated at the step 602 of FIG. 6, to attract the attention of thephotographer by displaying a warning while the actuators are in action.It is also possible to arrange the iris to be brought to a stop theinstant the actuators are brought to a stop.

Embodiment II

FIG. 7 shows the circuit arrangement of a magnetic recording apparatuswhich is arranged as a second embodiment of this invention. Thearrangement is similar to that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3.However, the zooming lens group 302, the compensating lens group 304,the zoom driving circuit 330 and the motor 332 are omitted from thesecond embodiment. Further, in the case of the second embodiment,control signal exchange is not particularly necessary between theshutter control device 320 and the optical system control device 322.The shutter control device 320 is arranged to receive an automatic whitebalance (AWB) control state signal from the camera signal processingcircuit 314. The AWB control state signal indicates the state of changestaking place in the AWB control. Input signals to the shutter controldevice 320 include a moving-image shooting/still image shooting (M/S)mode selection signal, a release signal, the AWB control state signal,etc. In accordance with the input signals, the shutter control device320 controls the shutter and the recording device in a manner mostapposite to still image shooting or to moving image shooting.

The flow of the operation procedures to be taken within the shuttercontrol device 320 of FIG. 7 is similar to the flow shown in FIG. 4.However, the details of the process of the shutter control routine to beexecuted for still image shooting at the step 408 differ from the firstembodiment. The details of this shutter control routine for still imageshooting are described below with reference to FIG. 8 which is a flowchart:

At a step 700: The above-stated AWB control state signal is checked tofind if the state of change taking place in the AWB control is above agiven level. In other words, a check is made to find if the AWB controlis in a transition period. If so, the flow of control is inhibited fromcoming to a next step 702 which is a shutter driving routine until theAWB control comes to an end. If the AWB control is judged to be in anormal state at the step 700, the flow comes to the step 702 for theshutter driving routine. At the step 702: When still image shooting isjudged to be possible, the still image shooting is carried out bydriving the shutter 306 at a predetermined shutter speed.

The second embodiment is thus arranged to monitor the AWB control statewhen a release button (or device) is turned on in the still imageshooting mode; and to inhibit the shutter operation if the AWB controlis in a transition period. Therefore, a still image can be preventedfrom being recorded in an inapposite state when a color on the imageplane differs from the actual color of the object. In other words, withthe second embodiment arranged to inhibit a release action for stillimage shooting according to the AWB control state, the color of thestill image is effectively prevented from differing from the actualcolor. This arrangement enables the video camera of the kind capable ofrecording both moving and still images to ensure sharp still imageshots.

Modification Example of Embodiment II

The second embodiment of the invention described above is arranged toallow or inhibit the release action in accordance with the AWB controlstate signal. However, the invention is not limited to this arrangement.For example, this arrangement may be changed to allow or inhibit therelease action according to an aperture control state signal indicatingthe state of aperture control as shown at a step 800 in FIG. 9 which isa flow chart. In the case of this modification, the release action isinhibited when the state of aperture control changes to more than agiven extent. It is also possible to inhibit the release action whenautomatic gain control (AGC) changes to more than a given extent asshown at a step 900 in FIG. 10 which is also a flow chart.

Further, it is of course possible to arrange a magnetic recordingapparatus by combining the first and second embodiments described in theforegoing.

The arrangement of each of the embodiments described above gives thefollowing advantages:

(1) Since the magnetic recording apparatus of the kind capable ofrecording both moving and still images is arranged to forcibly inhibitthe actuators of the optical system from performing their drivingactions upon detection of the on-state of the release device in thestill image recording mode, an image shake can be prevented to ensure asharp still image shot.

(2) The magnetic recording apparatus of the kind capable of recordingboth moving and still images is arranged to monitor the operating stateof camera control at the time of still image shooting and to inhibit therelease action when the state of camera control is found to be in atransition period. Therefore, still images can be prevented from beingrecorded under a condition inapposite to still image shooting.

The following describes in detail further embodiments of this invention:

Embodiment III

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the overall arrangement of a thirdembodiment of this invention. The hardware arrangement shown in FIG. 11and described in the following applies not only to the third embodimentbut also applies in common to other embodiments which will be describedafter the third embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 11, a photo-taking lens system 101 includes a focusinglens which is provided for adjustment of focus. An iris 102 is arrangedto control the quantity of incident light. An image sensor 103 is madeof a CCD or the like and is arranged to photoelectrically convert intoan image signal an object image formed on its image pickup plane by thefocusing lens 101.

The illustration further includes a sample-and-hold (S/H) circuit 104; acamera signal processing circuit 105 which is arranged to convert theoutput of the S/H circuit 104 into a TV signal; a video signalprocessing circuit 106 which is arranged to output a moving-imagerecording (hereinafter referred to as MV) signal; an A/D conversioncircuit 107 which converts the TV signal into a digital TV signal; arate conversion circuit 108 which is arranged to compress the digital TVsignal; a PCM conversion circuit 109 which is arranged to output a stillimage recording (hereinafter referred to as SV) signal which has beenPCM-converted; and a recording circuit 110.

A focus detection circuit 111 is arranged to detect the focused state ofan object, for example, by extracting a high-frequency component fromthe video signal outputted from the camera signal processing circuit105. An SV/MV mode selection switch 112 is arranged to set the recordingmode of the apparatus either in an SV (still image recording) or an MV(moving image recording) mode. A two-step type trigger switch 113(hereinafter referred to simply as the trigger) is arranged to give aninstruction to allow or inhibit an automatic focusing (hereinafterreferred to as AF) action and also to give an instruction for recording.

A control circuit 114 is arranged to output an instruction for focuscontrol according to the output of the focus detection circuit 111; todesignate the recording mode according to the output of the SV/MV modeselection switch 112; and to control and allow or inhibit the executionof recording and the AF action according to the output of the trigger113 (indicating an open state, a half-pushed state or a fully-pushedstate of the trigger 113). A driving motor 115 is arranged to carry outthe focus control instructions given from the control circuit 114 as tothe rotating direction, rotating speed, rotation and stop of thefocusing lens 101.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing the flow of control to be performed inthe SV mode. At a step S1: The recording mode is checked for the SVmode. If it is found to be the SV mode, the flow comes to a step S2. Atthe step S2: A check is made to find if the trigger is open. If so, theflow comes to a step S3 to have the AF action performed before the flowcomes to a step S4. If not, the flow directly comes to a step S4. At thestep S4: A check is made to find if the trigger is in a half-pushedstate. If not, the flow comes to a step S5. At the step S5: A check ismade to find if the trigger is in a fully-pushed state. In the case ofthe fully-pushed state, the flow comes to a step S6 to inhibit the AFaction. At a step S9: The object image formed on the image pickup planeis taken in. A signal thus obtained from the image sensor 103 issubjected to the above-stated processes including the A/D conversion,the rate conversion and the PCM conversion. After completion of theseprocesses, a still image is recorded.

If the trigger is found not in the fully-pushed state at the step S5,the flow comes back to the step S3 to allow the AF action to beperformed. In this instance, the trigger is in its open state. If thetrigger is found to be in the half-pushed state at the step S4, the flowcomes to a step S7 to inhibit the AF action. The flow then comes to astep S8. At the step S8: A check is made to find if the trigger is inthe fully-pushed state. If not, the flow comes back to the step S2 tofind if the trigger is open. If the trigger is found to be in thefully-pushed state at the step S8, the flow comes to the step S6 toinhibit the AF action. After that, the flow comes to the step S9 to takein the object image formed on the image pickup plane and to have a stillimage recorded in the same manner as mentioned above.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing the flow of control procedures to betaken when the recording mode is the MV mode. At a step S11: A check ismade to find if the recording mode is the MV mode. If so, the flow comesto a step S12. At the step S12: The trigger is checked to find if it isopen. If so, the flow comes to a step S13 to allow the AF action to becarried out. If not, the flow comes to a step S14. At the step S14: Acheck is made to find if the trigger is in the half-pushed state. Ifnot, the flow comes to a step S15. At the step S15: A check is made tofind if the trigger is in the fully-pushed state. If so, the flow comesto a step S16 to allow the AF action to be carried out. After that, theflow comes to a step S19 to have the object image on the image pickupplane subjected to the above-stated video signal processing actionbefore the moving image thus obtained is recorded.

If the trigger is found to be not in the fully-pushed state at the stepS15, the flow comes back to the step, S13 to allow the AF action to becarried out. The trigger is in the open state in this instance. At thestep S14: A check is made to find if the trigger is in the half-pushedstate. If so, the flow comes to a step S17 to inhibit the AF action. Ata step S18: A check is made to find if the trigger is in thefully-pushed state. If not, the flow comes back to the step S12 to findif the trigger is open.

In a case where the trigger is found to be in the fully-pushed state atthe step S18, the flow comes to the step S16 to allow the AF action tobe carried out. The flow then comes to the step S19 to have the objectimage on the image pickup plane recorded in the moving image recordingmode. During the process of recording, the flow comes to a step S20. Atthe step S20: A check is made to find if the trigger is in thehalf-pushed state. If so, the flow comes to a step S21 to inhibit the AFaction. If not, the flow comes to a step S22. At the step S22: A checkis made to find if the trigger is open. If so, the flow comes back tothe step S16 to allow the AF action to be carried out and then comes tothe step S19 to perform the moving image recording. If not, the flowcomes to a step S23. At the step S23: A check is made again to find ifthe trigger has been fully pushed. If not, the recording is allowed tocontinue. If the trigger is found to have been fully pushed, the flowcomes to a step S24 to bring the recording to a stop.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart showing the flow of control procedures fordetecting the half-pushed state of the trigger while preventingchattering. The states of the trigger other than the half-pushed statecan be detected by procedures similar to this flow of control. Referringto FIG. 14, a check is made at a step S31 to find if the trigger is inthe half-pushed state. If so, the flow comes to a step S32 to start atimer. At a step S33: The length of time is counted until the time countof the timer comes to an end. The sensitivity of reading the half-pushedstate of the trigger is determined by the time thus measured. The timelength set for the SV mode differs from the the time length set for theMV mode. For example, in the event of the SV mode, the time is set to beshorter than for the MV mode to read the half-pushed state of thetrigger with a higher sensitivity. In the MV mode, the time may be setto be longer by taking into consideration the possibility of pushing thetrigger from its open state directly to the fully-pushed state forrecording. The length of time count thus can be variously set accordingto the mode and the control function.

Upon completion of the count of the timer at the step S33, the flowcomes to a step S34. At the step S34: If the trigger is found to bestill in the half-pushed state even after the lapse of the time set atthe timer, the flow comes to a step S35. At the step S35: Thehalf-pushed state of the trigger is detected.

Embodiment IV

In the SV mode, it is not always necessary to carry out the AF actionwhen the two-step trigger is open and to inhibit the AF action with thetrigger in the half-pushed state like in the case of the thirdembodiment.

Therefore, a fourth embodiment is arranged to inhibit the AF action whenthe two-step trigger is open and to carry out the AF action when thetrigger is in the half-pushed state as shown in FIG. 15, which is a flowchart. Referring to FIG. 15, the fourth embodiment is described asfollows: At a step S41: A check is made for the recording mode. If therecording mode is the SV mode, the flow comes to a step S42. At the stepS42: The trigger is checked to see if it is open. If so, the flow comesto a step S43 to inhibit the AF action. If not, the flow comes to a stepS44 to see if the trigger is in the half-pushed state. If the trigger isnot in the half-pushed state, the flow comes to a step S45. At the stepS45: A check is made to see if the trigger is in the fully-pushed state.If so, the flow comes to a step S46 to inhibit the AF action. The flowthen comes to a step S49. At the step S49: An object image on the imagepickup plane is taken in. Still image recording is carried out after theprocesses of the A/D conversion, rate conversion and PCM conversion areperformed as described in the foregoing. If the trigger is found not inthe fully-pushed state at the step S45, the flow comes back to the stepS43 to inhibit the AF action. In this instance, the trigger is in itsopen state. If the trigger is found to be in the half-pushed state atthe step S44, the flow comes to a step S47 to carry out the AF action.The flow then comes to a step S48. At the step S48: A check is made tofind if the trigger is in the fully-pushed state. If not, the flow comesback to the step S42 to find if the trigger is open. If the trigger isfound to be in the fully-pushed state at the step S48, the flow comes tothe step S46 to inhibit the AF action. The flow then comes to the stepS49 to take in the object image formed on the image pickup plane forstill image recording.

Embodiment V

If the recording mode is the MV mode, it is possible to allow or inhibitthe AF action according to the state of the AF action performed up tothat point of time (the open or half-pushed state of the trigger) inperforming recording with the trigger fully pushed.

Therefore, a fifth embodiment is arranged as shown in FIG. 16 which is aflow chart. Referring to FIG. 16, the recording mode is first checked ata step S51 to find if it is the MV mode. If so, the flow comes to a stepS52 to find if the trigger is open. If so, the flow comes to a step S53to allow the AF action to be carried out. If not, the flow comes to astep S54 to find if the trigger is in the half-pushed state. If thetrigger is found not in the half-pushed state, the flow comes to a stepS55. At the step S55: A check is made to find if the trigger is in thefully-pushed state. If so, the flow comes to a step S56 to have themoving image recording performed. If not, the flow comes back to thestep S53 to allow the AF action to be carried out. At this time, thetrigger is open.

If the trigger is found to be in the half-pushed state at the step S54,the flow comes to a step S57 to inhibit the AF action. The flow thencomes to a step S58 to find if the trigger is in the fully-pushed state.If not, the flow comes back to the step S52 to find if the trigger isopen. If the trigger is found to be in the fully-pushed state at thestep S58, the flow comes to the step S56 to have the moving imagerecording performed with the AF action left inhibited.

During the process of recording, the flow comes to a step S59. At thestep S59: A check is made to find if the trigger is in the half-pushedstate. If so, the flow comes to a step S60 to inhibit the AF action. Ifnot, the flow comes to a step S61. At the step S61: A check is made tofind if the trigger is open. If not, the flow comes back to the step S56to perform the moving image recording. If so, the flow comes to a stepS62 to allow the AF action to be carried out. The flow then comes to astep S63. At the step S63: A check is made to find again if the triggeris in the fully-pushed state. If not, the recording is allowed tocontinue. If so, the flow comes to a step S64 to bring the recording toa stop.

Embodiment VI

The two-step trigger may be arranged to have no function in itshalf-pushed state, that is, to act as a one-step trigger switch, whenthe MV mode is selected for recording. In the case of a sixth embodimentof this invention, the trigger is arranged to be opened and fully pushedfor recording without having the function of allowing or inhibiting theAF action.

The third to sixth embodiments described above are arranged to giveinstructions for allowing/inhibiting the AF action and for recording bymeans of one operation means. Therefore, the operability of theapparatus for recording and allowing/inhibiting the AF action can begreatly enhanced to widen shooting conditions. Further, the embodimentspermit the intention of the photographer to be more easily reflected inthe images recorded.

Next, other embodiments which are arranged with attention given to whitebalance control are described.

As mentioned in the foregoing, the control actions which must havedifferent characteristics for still image shooting from characteristicsfor moving image shooting include the white balance control action.

In shooting a still image, the image of the object to be shot isinstantly frozen. In order to secure a shutter opportunity, a whitebalance correcting action is desired to be quickly performed without anyerror.

On the other hand, in the case of moving image shooting, the images ofthe object are temporally continuing. In this case, although the whitebalance correction is also preferably performed within a short period oftime, an excessively high-speed white balance correction tends to causean overshot correction. The overshooting then might result in arepetitive correction, which causes the continuous images to give adisagreeable impression. In view of this, for the moving image shooting,the white balance correction is desired to be performed smoothly ratherthan at a high speed.

Therefore, if the white balance correction or adjustment is controlledin the same manner for both the moving image shooting and the stillimage shooting, color adjustment cannot be adequately accomplished foreach of the different modes of shooting.

In view of this problem, each of the embodiments described below isarranged to enable an image pickup apparatus to accomplish white balancecontrol appositely to the characteristic of still image shooting andthat of moving image shooting.

The arrangement of each of these embodiments is summarized as follows:An image pickup apparatus of the kind capable of performing both movingimage shooting and still image shooting comprises: gain control meansfor controlling an amplification gain of a color signal obtained from animage sensor; color detecting means for detecting a color of an objecton the basis of a signal obtained from the gain control means; gaincontrol signal forming means for forming a gain control signal to besupplied to the gain control means according to an output signal of thecolor detecting means; mode detecting means for detecting that theapparatus is set in a still image shorting mode; and control meansarranged to vary a mode of control over the gain control signal formingmeans in response to an output of the mode detecting means.

At the time of still image shooting, this arrangement enables theapparatus to accomplish a white balance correcting action at a highspeed by detecting the selection of the still image shooting mode and byincreasing the amount of correction of the white balance correctingaction by the gain control means. The details of these embodiments aredescribed as follows:

Embodiment VII

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a seventh embodiment of thisinvention. The illustration includes an A/D conversion circuit 30; arate conversion circuit 31; a PCM conversion circuit 32; a recordingcircuit 33; a white balance adjustment on/off switch 34; a shooting modeselection switch 35 for selection of either a moving image recording(MV) mode or a still image recording (SV) mode; and a control circuit36. The control circuit 36 is arranged to detect the shooting mode; tocause the recording circuit 33 to perform recording in the detectedmode; and to cause a white balance correcting action to be performed ifthe white balance on/off switch 34 is on.

The illustration further includes an image sensor 41; aluminance/chrominance signal forming part 42; a gain control part 43 fora red (R) signal; a gain control part 44 for a blue (B) signal; acolor-difference signal forming part 45; and an encoder 46.

A dividing signal generator 16 is arranged to generate a dividing signalfor dividing color-difference signals. The dividing signal generator 16outputs, from a terminal P for every vertical scanning period V, a pulsefor taking out a portion of each color-difference signal obtained fromwithin the image plane. The dividing signal generator 16 also outputs areset pulse from a terminal Q′ at the end of every vertical scanningperiod V. Dividing parts 17 and 18 are arranged to divide respectivelythe color-difference signals R-YL and B-YL by outputting dividing pulsesfrom a terminal P′ for operating an analog switch or the like.

An averaging part 19 is arranged to average the divided R-YL signals. Anaveraging part 20 is arranged to average the divided B-YL signals. Theaveraged signals are inputted to a microcomputer 29 through terminals Pand Q.

An A/D (analog-to-digital) converter 21 is arranged to convert theaveraged B-YL signal coming from the terminal P into a digital value. AnA/D converter 22 is arranged to convert the averaged R-YL signal comingfrom the terminal Q into a digital value. A color discrimination part 23is arranged to discriminate the colors of the divided parts on the basisof the output values of the A/D converters 21 and 22, and to controllevel adjustment parts 24 and 25 according to information obtained as aresult of the discrimination.

The level adjustment part 24 is arranged to adjust the value obtainedfrom the A/D converter 21 according to a signal from the colordiscrimination part 23. The level adjustment part 25 is arranged toadjust the value obtained from the A/D converter 22 according to thesignal from the color discrimination part 23. A correction signalcontrol part 26 is arranged to control a white balance correction outputon the basis of the outputs (R-YL)′ and (B-YL)′ of the level adjustmentparts 24 and 25. A D/A (digital-to-analog) converter 27 is arranged toconvert the output value of the correction signal control part 26 from adigital value to an analog value and to output a white balancecorrection signal B. cont. A D/A converter 28 is likewise arranged toconvert the output of the correction signal control part 26 and tooutput a white balance correction signal R. cont.

In FIG. 17, the circuit elements 16 to 23 constitute color detectionmeans for detecting the color of the object. Next, the image planedividing action of the color detection means is described as follows:

In a case where the image plane is to be divided into 20 blocks as shownin FIG. 20, the image plane is divided in the order of numbers indicatedin FIG. 20. The averaging parts 19 and 20 are arranged to average thecolor-difference signals of the divided blocks, to amplify the averagecolor-difference signals and to supply them as data to the microcomputer29. When the data is taken in by the A/D converters 21 and 22 of themicrocomputer 29, the dividing signal generator 16 outputs a reset pulseto reset the contents of the averaging parts 19 and 20.

The above-stated actions are performed for every field and the data ofeach division (block) of the image plane is supplied to themicrocomputer 29 for every field. The microcomputer 29 performs a whitebalance correcting action on the basis of the divided data.

The color discrimination part 23 shown in FIG. 17 acts as follows: Thedata of the A/D-converted color-difference signals R-YL and B-YL isinputted to the color discrimination part 23. The values of the inputdata are compared respectively with reference values Rref and Bref whichindicate the white levels preset within the color discrimination part 23for the color-difference signals R-YL and B-YL. The color discriminationpart 23 then judges what kind of color is existing in each of thedivided blocks on the basis of the result of comparison. For the sake ofsimplification, each of the reference values Rref and Bref is assumed tobe 0. The values of R-YL and B-YL data of a certain block are assumed tobe r1 and −b1, for example. If these values are in the relation of r1<b1and r1>0, the vectorial position of the color of this block isconsidered to be at a point Ye as shown in FIG. 21. In this instance,such signals that are for multiplying the color-difference signal B-YLby x to make it into −b2 and the color-difference signal R-YL by y tomake it into −r2 are supplied respectively to the level adjustment parts24 and 25.

Referring to FIG. 21 which is a vectorial representation, with theabove-stated action performed, the signal at the point Ye is convertedinto a signal of a point G before it is supplied to the correctionsignal control part 26. At the correction signal control part 26, gaincontrol signals are generated according to the input signals and thewhite level reference values Rref and Bref. The gain control signals aresupplied through the D/A converters 27 and 28 to the gain control parts43 and 44 for a white balance correcting action.

As described above, in the case of this embodiment, the circuit elements24 to 28 constitute signal forming means for the gain control to beperformed by the gain control parts 43 and 44. The signal located at thepoint Ye of the vectorial representation of FIG. 21 is converted intothe signal located at the point G before it is inputted to thecorrection signal control part 26. At the correction signal control part26, gain control signals are generated on the basis of the input signalsand the white level reference values Rref and Bref. The white balancecorrecting action is performed by supplying the gain control signals tothe gain control parts 43 and 44 through the D/A converters 27 and 28.

In this instance, the control circuit 36 is arranged as follows: In acase where the output of the mode selection switch 35 indicates themoving image shooting mode, the control circuit 36 causes the correctiongain of the correction signal control part 26 to be set at a low valuein such a way as to have the correction value output little by littleuntil an apposite white level is attained, so that the white balancecorrecting action can be smoothly accomplished. In the event of thestill image shooting mode, the correction gain of the correction signalcontrol part 26 is caused to be set at a high value in such a way as tomake correction instantly up to the apposite white level, so that thewhite balance correcting action can be speedily accomplished.

Embodiment VIII

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing an eighth embodiment of thisinvention. In FIG. 18, parts which are the same or similar to thoseshown in FIG. 17 are indicated by the same reference numerals. As shownin FIG. 18, the eighth embodiment is provided with an SV release button37 for SV (still image shooting). When the SV release button 37 isoperated, the control circuit 36 detects the still image shooting mode.Under the release condition, therefore, the white balance correctingaction is performed in the still image shooting mode to permit ahigh-speed white balance correcting action.

FIG. 19 is a flow chart showing the operation of the circuit arrangementof FIG. 18. Referring to FIG. 19, a check is made for a half-pushedstate of the release button at a step S111. If the release button isjudged to be in the half-pushed state, the flow comes to a step S112. Atthe step S112: The white balance correcting action is allowed to beaccomplished at a high speed for the still image shooting. At a nextstep S113: A check is made to find if the release switch is fullypushed. If so, the flow comes to a step S114. At the step S114: A stillimage is recorded by A/D converting, rate converting and PCM convertinga video signal.

Each of the seventh and eighth embodiments is arranged to permitadequate shooting and recording by detecting the shooting mode and byperforming white balance correction control either at a high speedadapted for the still image shooting in the still image shooting mode orin a smooth manner adapted for the moving image shooting in the movingimage shooting mode.

The following describes some embodiments of the invention that arearranged with attention given to backlight correction control:

Similar to the above-stated white balance control, the characteristic ofthe backlight correction control required for the still image shootingdiffers from the characteristic required for the moving image shooting.

In cases where the luminance of the object greatly differs from that ofthe background like in the case of a backlight shot, the image obtainedunder such a condition becomes unnatural with the object imageexcessively darkened. To prevent this, there has been proposed a lightmeasuring method of measuring light by attaching a weight to a part ofthe image plane such as the inside of a frame set in the central partwhere the probability of having a main object image located on the imageplane is high. Another method proposed for this purpose is an evaluativelight measuring method. According to that method, light is evaluativelymeasured by using a plurality of light measuring frames arranged todiffer in area from each other within the image plane, and lightmeasurement information is corrected according to the result ofevaluation.

Since, in the case of still image shooting, the object image isinstantly frozen, the backlight correcting action must be accomplishedat a high speed in order to secure a shutter opportunity. The backlightcorrecting action must be quickly and accurately controlled in shootinga still image. On the other hand, in the case of moving image shooting,the object is temporally continuous. Although the backlight correctioncontrol is preferably performed also in a short period of time, anexcessively high-speed backlight corection tends to overshoot a desiredexposure or to cause a repetitive control action due to theovershooting. Continuous images obtained under such a condition tend togive a disagreeable impression. Hence, in the case of the moving imageshooting, the backlight correction control is preferably performed in asmooth manner rather than at a high speed. Therefore, if the backlightcorrection control is applied in the same manner both to moving imageshooting and to still image shooting, it is hardly possible toadequately perform the control for each of the two different shootingmodes.

In view of the above-stated problem, the embodiments described below arearranged to detect the shooting mode selected and, in the event of thestill image shooting mode, to increase the amount of backlightcorrection to be made at a time, so that the backlight correctioncontrol can be accomplished at a high speed.

The arrangement of each of these embodiments is summarized as follows: Amagnetic recording image pickup apparatus capable of selectivelyrecording either moving images or still images comprises: lightmeasuring means arranged to perform weighted light measurement on thebasis of a light measuring area set in a specific position within animage plane; level detecting means for detecting luminance signal levelsobtained from a plurality of light measuring areas set within the imageplane; determining means for determining a backlight condition of anobject on the basis of an output of the level detecting means;correcting means for correcting, on the basis of the result ofdetermination made by the determining means, a measured light signalobtained from the light measuring means under a backlight shootingcondition; mode detecting means for detecting a still image shootingmode; and control means for performing control in such a way as to makethe amount of correction to be made at a time greater than the amount ofcorrection for a moving image shooting when the still image shootingmode is detected by the mode detecting means.

The embodiment is arranged to detect the mode of shooting, to performthe backlight correction control at a high speed by increasing theamount of correction to be made at a time in the event of the stillimage shooting mode, and to perform the backlight correction control assmoothly and accurately as possible by decreasing the amount ofcorrection to be made at a time in the case of the moving image shootingmode. Therefore, the backlight correction control can be accomplishedappositely to each of the different shooting modes.

The details of the above-stated embodiments are described below withreference to the drawings:

Embodiment IX

FIG. 22 shows the circuit arrangement of a ninth embodiment of thisinvention. The illustration includes an A/D conversion circuit 214; arate conversion circuit 215; a PCM conversion circuit 216; a recordingcircuit 217; a mode selection switch 218 for switching the shooting modebetween an MV (moving image shooting) mode and an SV (still imageshooting) mode; and a control circuit 219. The control circuit 219 isarranged to detect the shooting mode and to cause the recording circuit217 to perform recording in the mode detected.

The illustration of FIG. 22 further includes a photo-taking lens 201; aniris 202 which is arranged to control the quantity of incident light; animage sensor 203 which is a CCD (charge-coupled device) or the like; abuffer amplifier 204; an AGC (automatic gain control) circuit 205; alight measuring circuit 208 which is arranged to measure light on thebasis of the output of the buffer amplifier 204 according to afixed-frame signal coming from a fixed-light-measuring-frame signalgenerating circuit 210 and a correction signal coming from a backlightcorrection circuit 212; and another light measuring circuit 209 which isarranged likewise to measure light on the basis of the output of the AGCcircuit 205. The fixed-light-measuring-frame signal generating circuit210 is arranged to gate a video signal to pass only a video signalportion that corresponds to the position of a light measuring frameimaginarily set on the image plane; and, as a result of gating, togenerate a fixed-light-measuring-frame signal for measuring light on thebasis of a signal obtained from within the light measuring frame.

An iris driving circuit 207 is arranged to control the amount ofaperture by driving the iris 202 according to the output of the lightmeasuring circuit 208. A reference numeral 206 denotes an encodercircuit. A terminal 211 is arranged to receive a composite synchronizingsignal which is used for setting the light measuring frame.

With the embodiment arranged as described above, incident light whichcomes through the lens 201 and the iris 202 to fall on the image sensor203 is photoelectrically converted into an electrical signal. Thiselectrical signal is supplied to the AGC circuit 205 to be subjected toa signal processing action including gain control, etc. The signal isdivided into a luminance signal and color-difference signals. The signalfrom the AGC circuit 205 is inputted to the encoder (ENC) circuit 206.The signal inputted to the encoder circuit 206 is also inputted to thebacklight correction circuit 212. The backlight correction circuit 212determines the state of backlight by comparing the output level of theAGC circuit 205 with a reference value. The circuit 212 sends acorrection signal indicating a correction amount decided according tothe result of comparison to the light measuring circuits 208 and 209.Upon receipt of the correction signal, the light measuring circuits 208and 209 drive the iris 202 and the AGC circuit 205. As a result, thelight measurement is accomplished with the adverse effect of a backlightcondition adequately corrected, so that the object image can beprevented from being excessively darkened.

In this instance, the control circuit 219 operates according to theshooting mode detected from the mode selection switch 218 to cause thebacklight correction circuit 212 to lower the amount of correction to bemade at a time in such a way as to have the amount of correctionoutputted little by little up to a desired amount of exposure if themoving image shooting mode is selected. Therefore, the backlightcorrection can be smoothly carried out in the moving image shootingmode.

If the mode detected from the mode selection switch 218 is the stillimage shooting mode, the control circuit 219 causes the backlightcorrection circuit 212 to increase the amount of correction to be madeat a time in such a way as to have the correction instantly carried outup to an amount apposite to a desired exposure. The backlight correctionthus can be carried out at a high speed in the still image shootingmode.

Embodiment X

A tenth embodiment of this invention is provided with an SV releasebutton 220 as shown in FIG. 23. In this case, the control circuit 219 isarranged to detect the still image shooting mode when the SV releasebutton 220 is operated for a release. In the state of the release, anexposure correcting action is performed at a high speed in the stillimage shooting mode.

FIG. 24 is a flow chart showing the procedures of control to beperformed by the control circuit 219. Referring to the flow chart ofFIG. 24, a check is made at a step S211 to find if the release button220 is in a half-pushed state. If so, the flow comes to a next stepS212. At the step S212: The exposure correcting action is controlled tobe performed at a high speed for still image shooting. At a step S213: Acheck is made for the fully-pushed state of the release button 220. Ifthe release button 220 is found to be in the fully-pushed state, theflow comes to a step S214. At the step S214: The video signal issubjected to A/D conversion, rate conversion and PCM conversionprocesses. After that, the recording circuit 217 is caused to record astill image thus obtained.

As described above, the ninth and tenth embodiments are arranged todetect the shooting mode, and to carry out the backlight correctioncontrol at a high speed apposite to still image shooting in the case ofthe still image shooting mode or in a smooth manner apposite to movingimage shooting if the shooting mode is the moving image shooting mode.Therefore, the shooting and recording actions can be accomplishedappositely to each of the different shooting modes.

Some of the embodiments of this invention are arranged with attentiongiven to the shutter speed. The arrangement of such embodiments issummarized as follows:

A recording image pickup apparatus capable of shooting still images aswell as moving images comprises: instructing means for giving aninstruction for commencement of still image shooting; detecting meansfor detecting information on an aperture value and information on animage pickup gain; and control means for controlling a shutter speed andan aperture value of an image sensor on the basis of the instruction forcommencement of the still image shooting and an output of the detectingmeans.

In cases where a high shutter speed is judged to be allowable on thebasis of the aperture value and the gain of the AGC, the embodimentcontrols and increases the shutter speed to a speed apposite to stillimage shooting, so that an image shake which tends to take place inshooting a still image can be prevented.

The details of these embodiments are as follows:

Embodiment XI

FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing an eleventh embodiment of thisinvention. The illustration includes a lens group 1001; an iris 1002; aCCD (image sensor) 1003; a sample-and-hold (S/H) circuit 1004; camerasignal processing circuits 1005, 1006 and 1007; an AGC correction andgamma circuit 1005; an encoder 1006; a color processing circuit 1007; avideo signal processing circuit 1008; an A/D conversion circuit 1009; arate conversion circuit 1010; a PCM conversion circuit 1011; a recordingcircuit 1012; a shutter speed setting circuit 1013; a light measuringcircuit 1014; an aperture reading circuit 1015; an aperture settingcircuit 1016; a release button 1017 for still image shooting; and acontrol circuit 1018.

The control circuit 1018 is arranged to control the shutter speed, etc.,according to the signal of the release button, information on theaperture and information on the AGC gain.

FIG. 26 is a flow chart which shows the flow of the operation of thecontrol circuit 1018 and consists of steps S121 to S130. The flow ofoperation is as follows:

At the step S122: A check is made for the half-pushed state (on by onestep) of the release button 1017. If so, the flow comes to a step S123.At the step S123: The control circuit 1018 reads aperture valueinformation from the aperture reading circuit 1015. At a step S124: Theaperture value is checked to find if it indicates a full-open sate. Ifnot, the flow comes to a step S125. At the step S125: A shutter speedvalue and an aperture value are set on the basis of the relation betweenthe shutter speed and the aperture as shown in FIG. 27(A). Referring toFIG. 27(A), if the read value of aperture is F4.0 while the full-openaperture is F2.0, for example, the aperture can be opened by two stepsto F4.0 and the shutter speed can be set at {fraction (1/125)} sec or{fraction (1/250)} sec. If the aperture is found to be fully open, theflow comes to a step S126 to read the AGC gain. At a next step S127: TheAGC gain is checked to find if it is a maximum value. If not, the flowcomes to a step S128. At the step S128: A shutter speed is set on thebasis of a relation between the shutter speed and the AGC gain as shownin FIG. 27(B).

The shutter speed thus can be set at a higher speed apposite to stillimage shooting in cases where the shutter speed is found to beincreasable on the basis of the aperture value or the AGC gain.

At a step S129: A check is made for the fully-pushed state (on by twosteps) of the release button 1017. If the release button 1017 is foundto be in the fully-pushed state, the flow comes to a step S130 for stillimage shooting. If the release button 1017 is found to be in thehalf-pushed state, the shutter speed setting process continues. If therelease button 1017 is found to be in an off-state, the embodiment comesback to its normal moving image shooting state for which the shutterspeed is at {fraction (1/60)} sec.

Embodiment XII

The eleventh embodiment described above is arranged to increase theshutter speed in response to an instruction given from the still imageshooting release button 1017. However, in the case of a twelfthembodiment of the invention, that arrangement is changed to arrange amode selection switch 1041 for switching between the moving imageshooting (MV) mode and the still image shooting (SV) mode in combinationwith the still image shooting release button 1017, as shown in FIG. 28.

FIG. 29 shows the flow of control operation of the twelfth embodiment.At a step S142: A check is made for the still image shooting mode. Ifthe shooting mode is found to be the still image shooting mode, theshutter speed is set at a high speed on the basis of the aperture valueand the AGC gain through steps S143, S144, S145, S146, S147 and S148.

At a step S149: If the still image shooting release button 1017 isturned on, the flow comes to a step S150 to have the still imageshooting carried out. Further, in a case where the shooting mode isfound to be the moving image shooting mode at the step S142, the flowcomes to a step S151 to have the moving image shooting carried out atthe normal shutter speed of {fraction (1/60)} sec.

As described above, the eleventh and twelfth embodiments are arrangedsuch that, in the still image shooting mode, the shutter speed which isnormally {fraction (1/60)} sec for the moving image shooting isincreased to a speed apposite to the still image shooting on the basisof the aperture value and the AGC gain. Therefore, in the case of thestill image shooting, an image shake due to hand vibrations, etc., canbe prevented by virtue of the higher shutter speed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A recording apparatus capable of recording astill image and a moving image, comprising: detecting means fordetecting a release signal for recording the still image; control meansarranged to inhibit driving control of a driving part for a zooming andfocusing operation arranged to drive a photo-taking optical system, isresponse to release signal is detected by said detecting means in astill image recording mode.
 2. A recording apparatus capable ofrecording a still image and a moving image, comprising: image sensingmeans; recording means having a still image recording mode for recordingthe still image and a moving image recording mode for recording themoving image; detecting means for detecting an operation state of cameracontrol in the still image recording mode; and control means, inresponsive to the output of said detecting means, for controlling saidrecording means to inhibit an execution of a still image recordingoperation when the operation state of camera control for controllingsaid image sensing means is in a transition period.
 3. An apparatusaccording to claim 2, wherein said camera control is at least one ofautomatic white balance control, aperture control and automatic gaincontrol.
 4. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said controlmeans inhibits the execution of the still image recording operation ofsaid recording means during the transition period that controlparameters of said automatic white balance control, said aperturecontrol and said automatic gain control being changed on the basis of animage sensing state.
 5. An image pickup apparatus capable of selectivelyperforming both moving image recording and still image recording,comprising: light measuring means for performing weighted lightmeasurement on the basis of a light measuring area set in apredetermined position within an image plane; level detecting means fordetecting levels of luminance signals obtained from a plurality of lightmeasuring areas set within the image plane; determining means fordetermining a backlight state of an object to be recorded on the basisof an output of said level detecting means; correction means forcorrecting a measured light signal outputted from said light measuringmeans under a backlight shooting condition on the basis of the result ofdetermination made by said determining means; and control means forperforming control in such a manner that a unit of correction step ofsaid correction means in a still image shooting mode is greater than aunit of correction step in a moving image shooting mode.